Face to Face Workshops: Going Full Circle

Penny Hunking, Honorary Training Academy Officer

In 2018 the Nutrition Society Training Academy (NSTA) transitioned 95% of its training opportunities online to ensure that the NSTA was readily accessible to all members, irrespective of time of day, financial constraints or global location. This change in delivery model has enabled the NSTA to provide even more content, focussing on wider areas of interest, including niche topics that rarely get covered. Of course, a couple of stand-alone workshops remained, including topics such as Statistics for Nutrition Research, providing that extra level of guidance through in-person tuition. It is, however, increasingly clear that the online accessibility of a webinar became far more appealing to you, the membership.

Nobody could have foreseen the importance of the decision to take the NSTA online and how vital the new experience of delivering webinars would be, as face to face workshops became temporarily redundant throughout lockdowns owing to COVID-19. It was a time when the whole world had to operate entirely online with no option but to engage with training, work and social events in a virtual world. It was clear to see the popularity of the various new offerings of online learning, and engagement soared. We received a great deal of praise about the opportunities available, and the obvious bonus of reduced financial and time burdens which could be achieved by accessing content online. At that time

Cooking With Heroes

this was considered the ‘new normal’ and there were many discussions as to whether face to face meetings, training and conferences would be welcomed back.

How often though have we heard of a trend returning? Of things going ‘full circle’? Interestingly, but probably of no surprise to the membership, we are now seeing a resurgence of interest for the return of face-to-face workshops with rising numbers expressing an eagerness to return. The benefit is that such events allow for networking that clearly no online platform can fully replicate. It also enables one-to-one tuition on those sticky subjects you just cannot fathom on a webinar and, importantly, an opportunity to ignore emails and to immerse yourself entirely into the workshop in which you are participating.

The NSTA is currently working out the logistics of reintroducing face-to-face workshops. What will remain, is that the NSTA will continue to be your trusted source for research and evidence based nutritional science for your Continued Professional Development (CPD), irrespective of the delivery model. For those of you still enjoying online learning or are perhaps geographically restricted, the NSTA will continue to deliver online although is also investigating new ways of engaging remote members with faceto-face workshops. In the meantime, you can still sign up for the current online workshop titles available, such

The Society was delighted that Penny Hunking (Honorary Training Academy Officer) and Dr Carrie Ruxton (Honorary Strategic Communications Officer) were able to contribute to the article ‘Nutritious Knowledge’, showcased in the Royal British Legion’s centenary cookbook.

The Royal British Legion Centenary Cookbook was officially launched on 15 October 2021. Written by volunteers, the book will raise money for military veterans, and provides authentic recipe from 100 regions around the world in which the Legion has operated. The book is available to purchase via the poppyshop.org.uk as ‘Statistics for Nutrition Research’, ‘Systematic Reviews: how to perform and interpret’, and ‘How to Get Published’.

There is plenty more to come from the NSTA face-to-face workshop programme, so look out for titles on the key principles of statistics for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), advanced statistics for SPSS, dietary assessment methods and much, much more. For now, take the opportunity to engage with the NSTA’s on-demand webinar catalogue, which will always be there when you need a quick hour of CPD! The on-demand catalogue has had an overhaul, now making it easier than ever before for you to find a webinar to meet your CPD needs, be that scientific- or skills-based.

If you would like to see a particular workshop feature in the NSTA programme, let us know at training@nutritionsociety.org

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